1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of dental appliances, and more particularly to a sleep apnea appliance for adjustably positioning the user's lower jaw into a forward position and for increasing the vertical dimensions of the user's mouth for opening the user's airway for easier breathing.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the past, it has been the conventional practice to provide a dental appliance to be worn by a user at night for treatment of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. The appliance generally consists of an upper bite block conforming to the user's maxillary dentition, a lower bite block conforming to the user's mandibular dentition, and a connecting assembly secured to an anterior region of the upper and lower bite blocks for adjustably coupling the upper and lower bite blocks together.
Problems and difficulties have been encountered with such conventional dental appliances which stem largely from the fact that a multiplicity of parts and elements are necessary in order to mount, connect and use the above mentioned assembly. Such conventional assemblies employ side-bars, clasps, wires and screw mechanisms which are complicated to assemble and require constant maintenance. Most of the conventional dental appliances do not allow for various vertical settings, nor do they allow for lateral movement for the lower jaw, as well as allowing for anterior and posterior adjustability. An example of a conventional dental appliance which suffers from the problems and difficulties is represented in the disclosures of U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,784 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,542.
Therefore, a long-standing need has existed to provide a dental appliance which provides for lower jaw positioning into a forward position and which will also increase the vertical opening of a patient's mouth in order to expand the patient's airway. The novel dental appliance should contain no more than four parts that are readily assembled without the necessity for threaded screws and wrenches.